你属什么？
What is my Chinese zodiac sign? How to ask 你属什么
Name: ________________ Date: ________
第一次去中国朋友家吃饭，朋友的奶奶问我：“你属什么？”
我不明白。“属”是什么意思？我应该怎么回答呢？
朋友笑着说：“奶奶想知道你是哪年出生的。”
在中国，一年有一个动物，十二年就有十二个：鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪。十二年以后，又是第一个。
你是哪一年出生的，那一年是什么动物，你就属什么。比如，2000年是龙年，那年出生的人会说：“我属龙。”今年，2026年，是马年。
可是，新的一年不是在1月1号，是在春节。所以，1月或者2月出生的人，可能属上一年的动物。
为什么奶奶没有问“你多大了”？因为很多老人都喜欢这样问。知道了你属什么，再看看你，就知道你今年多大了。
我说：“我属狗。”
奶奶看了看我，说：“你是2006年的吧？我们一样！我比你大六十岁。”
我的朋友在旁边说：“奶奶，您怎么知道他不是1994年的？”
奶奶笑了：“我一看他的脸就知道了。”
那你呢？你属什么？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | grandmother (father's mother); grandma |
| 意思 | yìsi | meaning; idea |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 这样 | zhèyàng | like this; this way |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 明白 | míngbai | to understand; to realize |
| 回答 | huídá | to answer; to reply; answer; reply |
| 出生 | chūshēng | to be born; birth |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal |
| 牛 | niú | cow; ox; cattle |
| 马 | mǎ | (vulgar) mother (used in curses as a stand-in for 妈) |
| 羊 | yáng | sheep; goat |
English (for the teacher)
The first time I went to a Chinese friend's home for dinner, my friend's grandma asked me, “What do you belong to?”
I didn't understand. What does “belong” mean? How was I supposed to answer?
My friend laughed. “Grandma wants to know what year you were born.”
In China each year has an animal, and twelve years have twelve: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. After twelve years, it's back to the first.
Whatever animal the year you were born is, that's the one you “belong to”. For example, 2000 was a Year of the Dragon, so people born that year say, “I'm a Dragon.” This year, 2026, is a Year of the Horse.
But the new year doesn't start on the first of January. It starts at Spring Festival. So people born in January or February may belong to the year before's animal.
Why didn't Grandma just ask “How old are you?” Because lots of older people like to ask it this way. Once she knows your animal, one more look at you tells her how old you are this year.
I said, “I'm a Dog.”
Grandma looked at me. “Born in 2006, right? We're the same! I'm sixty years older than you.”
My friend asked, “Grandma, how do you know he wasn't born in 1994?”
Grandma laughed. “One look at his face tells me.”
What about you? What do you belong to?